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Topic Review (Newest First)

09-05-2013 01:44 AM

talontsiawd

So I thought I would not have much time to deal with this tank as my wedding is coming up (10 days). Truth be told, I am spending more time on my tanks than ever, great stress relief.

I spent more than a few hours going over just about 100% of the glass with a razor blade. I have some old brown algae that is long dead but is really tough to get off the tank. I really hate using razor blade but this tank has some bad scratches as I accidentally set up the tank backwards when I started and large slopes with Flourite have always scratched the back of my tank. I accidentally made it the front.

I am still going through minor algae problems, raising the light about 1 inch per week. I also am being under fertilized as the silicone hose I use for my autodoser has kinked. It seems the HC still carpets well with my light still coming up so I think the balance can be reached, hopefully soon.

Here is a new front pic, cell phone as usual. I did edit it a bit to show how it really looks to the best of my abilities but minor editing to a bad photo never makes it a great one.

08-29-2013 01:51 PM

jwh0818

Quote:

Originally Posted by talontsiawd

It's fine to dose glut/excel into the tank, you just can't spot treat with it. H2O2 is only for killing problematic algae. Glut/Excel can be use the same way as well which will kill HC when you inject it directly on the HC without water movement. But just dosing the tank at recommended levels is perfectly fine.

Sweet! I may have to give it a try then. Itll be getting planted in a 20 long with miracle grow soil and pfs cap sp I think it will bo great. My giant hairgrass has taken off quite crazily since moved to this 20L

Sent from my dogs crate

08-29-2013 07:50 AM

talontsiawd

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwh0818

Is it okay to dose with glut without it melting away? I would assume the H2O2 is only for spot treating and algae break out?

Sent from my dogs crate

It's fine to dose glut/excel into the tank, you just can't spot treat with it. H2O2 is only for killing problematic algae. Glut/Excel can be use the same way as well which will kill HC when you inject it directly on the HC without water movement. But just dosing the tank at recommended levels is perfectly fine.

08-29-2013 07:45 AM

jwh0818

Quote:

Originally Posted by talontsiawd

It's not a hard plant IMO, I have better luck with it than a lot of others. It needs a decent amount of light, many think it requires pressurized CO2 though I have grown it without well, I would recommend CO2 injection. The only thing I don't like about the plant is it is super sensitive to spot dosing with Excel or H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide).

Is it okay to dose with glut without it melting away? I would assume the H2O2 is only for spot treating and algae break out?

Sent from my dogs crate

08-29-2013 07:38 AM

talontsiawd

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwh0818

Thats what I know it as! Dwarf baby tears. Ive never haf them because I heard it wad so hard to keep alive

Sent from my dogs crate

It's not a hard plant IMO, I have better luck with it than a lot of others. It needs a decent amount of light, many think it requires pressurized CO2 though I have grown it without well, I would recommend CO2 injection. The only thing I don't like about the plant is it is super sensitive to spot dosing with Excel or H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide).

08-29-2013 07:26 AM

jwh0818

Quote:

Originally Posted by talontsiawd

Hemianthus callitrichoides. It's often abbreviated on this forum to HC. Also known as Dwarf Baby Tears

Thats what I know it as! Dwarf baby tears. Ive never haf them because I heard it wad so hard to keep alive

Sent from my dogs crate

08-29-2013 07:22 AM

talontsiawd

Quote:

Originally Posted by jwh0818

What is HC? I used to know but its been awhile since I last heard it

Sent from my dogs crate

Hemianthus callitrichoides. It's often abbreviated on this forum to HC. Also known as Dwarf Baby Tears

08-29-2013 07:11 AM

jwh0818

What is HC? I used to know but its been awhile since I last heard it

Sent from my dogs crate

08-29-2013 06:47 AM

talontsiawd

Blurry update. Finally did a trim on the tank. The DHG is really dense now so I trimmed that down and pulled out quite a bit. Trimmed a bit of HC at the same time.

It doesn't look like much but the middle is filling out well. The left side was planted about 2 weeks later than the middle so it's only starting to catch up. The right side was planted about 3 weeks later so it's pretty far behind. I am guessing it will look pretty decent in about 2-3 weeks and carpet fully in about 1.5 months.

I am getting BGA and algae on the glass. Not sure why I tend to get it on this tank, nuking the BGA and then I will try to figure this out. I am trying to buy a real camera but money is a bit tight, getting married in 2.5 weeks so money is going elsewhere.

Sorry for the bad pic

08-20-2013 02:41 PM

talontsiawd

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xiaozhuang

Nice stones. Was quite intrigued that you initially had high light algae issues without the consequent plant growth effects. Even odder that HC is progressing well but the glosso grows upwards. Maybe it was a odd batch of glosso or something. I wonder whether its a stability issue as well, or method of planting.

HC seems to be spreading well though, so things are looking up~

It's odd because the glosso does fine in my other tank. I think my initial algae was caused by lack of plant mass but I am still not sure about growth issues. The only thing I can think of was my UV was on for awhile. However, I have never had growth issues doing that, I usually keep my UV sterilizer on for a few weeks on a new tank. Have no idea but the HC seems to be doing a lot better.

08-20-2013 01:17 AM

Xiaozhuang

Nice stones. Was quite intrigued that you initially had high light algae issues without the consequent plant growth effects. Even odder that HC is progressing well but the glosso grows upwards. Maybe it was a odd batch of glosso or something. I wonder whether its a stability issue as well, or method of planting.

HC seems to be spreading well though, so things are looking up~

08-20-2013 01:00 AM

talontsiawd

I don't know if this is an update or a progress report. The HC in the middle is doing very well, spreading way faster than the glosso ever did. I know there is not such a thing but I feel like I had faulty glosso. Well, it does fine in my nano, not sure what the deal is in this tank.

The HC in the middle is doing very well. The first picture is a progression of the last 9 days.

On the sides, I didn't start with as much but it is also not taking off as quickly. I think it's a combination of me having a 24 in fixture and floating plants, especially on the left side, that was totally shaded. I can raise the light for better spread and extend my noon burst for more intensity during the day, will wait and see.

Pics are not so good, I keep planning on buying a digital camera but I am having a wedding in less than a month, budget is ultra tight right now.

New HC growth:

Other Shots

08-10-2013 10:42 PM

talontsiawd

Quote:

Originally Posted by talontsiawd

5 days later, think I made the right choice on the HC....compare the Glosso on the left as well, not a lot of change

08-06-2013 12:09 AM

talontsiawd

This update is just for me to keep tabs on things. Every time I trim my glosso, I realize how great the HC is carpeting and how I just want to do HC. Being noncommittal, I am testing a very small area to see if I am correct. I took all glosso out in that area and planted HC in it's place. I probably used 1/4 of a pot so we will see in a week or two where that gets me.

Picture is cloudy as I stirred up the substrate.

08-03-2013 08:18 PM

talontsiawd

Quick update....I am starting to find the sweet spot between light and algae. It is hard to see in the pictures but the glosso that has been trimmed is starting to carpet. Everything I cut and replanted is growing upwards. The fact it is finally starting to carpet is great because I can now understand a bit better with how much light I am really going to need.

That said, I will likely extend the noon burst and/or drop down the fixture. I still think it could use a bit more light. Reason being is growth is still slower than it should be and I have some R. Butterfly in back that is not coloring up. I feel I am only about 1/4 planted right now compared to a dense, lush carpet I think more light doable. I will likely wait until after I trim, propagate, and wait for everything to recover.

Quick shots

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